The rugby morning headlines as Lions legend Paul O'Connell names best captain to take on South Africa

Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje are each prime candidates to captain the Lions next time, reckons Paul O'Connell

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The last man to skipper the Lions against the world champion Springboks has named two England stars as Warren Gatland captains in waiting for next summer's trip to South Africa.

Ireland legend Paul Connell says an 'abrasive' figure is needed to lead the way as the Lions look to fight fire with fire against a Springboks side built on raw power.

And he says the England duo of Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell each fit the bill.

O'Connell went on three Lions tours and skippered Ian McGeechan's Class of 2009 as they went down 2-1 to a South African side who were also world champions at the time.

Knowing what is required for the role, he said on the Will Greenwood podcast: "When you go to South Africa you certainly need someone confrontational because that is their DNA. You have to have a tactic to beat South Africa, to get around them and to try and trick them, but you certainly have to take them on as well.

"In the scrum, in the maul - because if they begin to get on top of you in the confrontational areas, then the belief begins to grow as we saw in the World Cup final against England."

Asked about Itoje as skipper, O'Connell said: "He is certainly the type of player you want playing against South Africa. A world-class athlete, phenomenal second row forward and I like watching him play. He is always pushing the limits and I am surprised he does not give away more penalties than he does.

"He is always pushing at the rucks, around the offside line and is brilliant at collapsing mauls. He is a real pleasure to watch from that regard.

"But I do not know what he is like in the dressing room, what he is like in terms of leadership and leading a group of men.

"I know a lot of people feel that you need a second rower or a front row forward captaining the side when you take on South Africa, but a player like Owen Farrell has that abrasive attitude as well. He is also very experienced in terms of taking on southern hemisphere teams and beating them.

"He has obviously also had that tough experience against South Africa in the World Cup, so he is someone who springs to mind."

Lions ready to switch to autumn

The Lions are ready to move their tour back to autumn 2021 to fit in with the new global calendar likely to emerge after the coronavirus pandemic..

Warren Gatland's side are scheduled to play in July and August, which would clash with the rearranged Olympic Games.

But moving the tour back to September and October is under discussion, according to reports.

"While we continue to look forward to an incredible Tour against the world champions in the summer of next year, and there are no planned changes, it would be remiss of us not to explore various scenarios for a possible date change caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," a Lions spokesperson told the BBC.

World Rugby plea to Pichot

The man who has replaced Agustin Pichot as World Rugby vice-chairman has pleaded with the Argentine great not to walk away from the game.

Pichot lost out to England veteran Bill Beaumont in his battle to become chairman at the weekend and is considering his future.

Wales were amongst those who backed Beaumont, with the votes of the Six Nations winning the day.

Pichot was seen as the new figure on the block ready to bring in radical change.